


Lazarus' Revenge (And How to Get Payback)

by starwritess



Series: The Undercover College Student AU No One Asked For [7]
Category: DCU (Comics), Red Hood: Lost Days, The Question (Comics)
Genre: Gen, Not Beta Read, Other characters mentioned - Freeform, just dudes being bros
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:53:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27186175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starwritess/pseuds/starwritess
Summary: Plagued by nightmares and the horrors of his past, Jason goes out and meets an unlikely friend.
Relationships: Vic Sage & Jason Todd
Series: The Undercover College Student AU No One Asked For [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/988218
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	Lazarus' Revenge (And How to Get Payback)

**Author's Note:**

> i dont have an explanation for this. quarantine.

Jason’s nightmares changed after that. 

He’d always had nightmares, since he was a kid, he was plagued with worries about his Mom, anger towards his Dad. After he died and came back, he often dreamt he was suffocating within his own coffin, buried alive. 

He also had nightmares about the Joker, being beat to death, the faces of those he’d killed, the various lethal events he’d transpired in. 

Jason’s whole life was basically nightmare fuel. 

It’s easy to avoid when he’s awake. Punching things, getting shot at? A surprising method of getting your mind off it. It’s only when he’s laying in bed at night, trying his best to get just  _ one _ night of sound sleep, that the hellish nightscape takes hold. 

Funhouse mirrors, bullet wounds, a very specific crowbar.

Yeah, sleeping was  _ fun.  _

He’d actually talked to Roy about this a few nights ago. Apparently everyone in their line of business had nightmares. All of them experienced the same heart-gripping fear of waking up in a cold sweat with the faces of all the people you couldn’t save flashing across your eyelids. When Jason signed on to being Robin so many years ago, he definitely hadn’t signed up for  _ this. _

Yet here he was, undercover at a university in Hub City, guns hidden in a suitcase beneath his bed as he stared up at the ceiling. He thought of the weapons stashed there, of his helmet and outfit. It would be so easy to put it on, strap up, and go out to punch some criminals in the face. 

Jason rolled onto his side. Ever since he’d lost himself for a moment while - dare he even call it -  _ torturing  _ that guy, his dreams had been different. More vivid. He saw the blood trickle down the man’s skin, saw the fear in his eyes as Jason gripped the knife a little tighter.

Well, frankly, he just didn’t want to sleep. Sleeping meant replaying his mistakes, and - correct him if he’s wrong - that isn’t something anyone enjoys.

He stared at the wall and tried not to think. The dorm rooms were all painted this ugly off-grey, tinted a little green. It was hideous. Looked like snot. Who wanted to look at their bedroom walls and think of mucus? Jason brought his hand forward and felt the light bumps beneath his finger tips. The rooms here were much nicer than anything in Gotham. Jason hadn’t gone to college, but he’d been inside the dorms at Gotham U, and they were exactly as you’d expect them to be. A disaster. How old were the rooms here, he wondered?

Tired of analyzing snot-tinted walls and unable to distract himself from the horrors of reality, Jason threw the sheets from his lap and fetched the supplies from under his bed.

He couldn’t go out as Red Hood - no, seeing a Gotham vigilante on campus would rouse too much suspicion. Instead, he shrugged on a heavy down coat and tucked a gun with some ammo instead. Here’s to hoping he didn’t need it.

Where would the criminals lie on a college campus? He wished he had something to go off of, but, even with all his mistakes earlier, he hadn’t gotten anything about the supplier. Maybe he should go out and look, make up a bit of the lost information. After all, it is his fault they didn’t get any.

So where would someone go to sell drugs? Well, normally around clubs would be a good start. But there are a lot of people there. He could try parks, beneath the power lines, in the alley behind the Quad… No, he would start with the club.

He threw a few more things in his pockets. Unfortunately, Jason couldn’t get away with wearing sunglasses. At this time of night, it would just draw too much attention. He still slipped on a hat, making sure to tuck the defining white streak beneath.

Next was to how he would get there. There was a curfew on, and while he doubted he would be caught sneaking out, he still didn’t want to take any chances. So, that left the window.

He walked over, opening it with a loud  _ squeak _ , and flinching. He hoped he didn’t wake Wally up. Luckily, it didn’t seem to, and he escaped with no further problems.

There weren’t any clubs on campus, but luckily there was one not too far out. Jason made his way there, keeping his eyes peeled for all the alleys and dark corners. He could tell when he was close to the club; the music echoed around all the surrounding buildings and he felt the bass thump in his chest. 

Jason made his way inside. It was just a typical bar with music playing. The lights were flashing. He immediately stepped in something wet that, hopefully, was just a spilled drink.

Well, to say it had been a long time since Jason had been to a club was probably an understatement. At least, not one like this. Not one with a group of Frat boys playing beer pong in the corner or Vic Sage drinking at the counter-  _ what? _

Jason casually walked over to the bar and took the seat next to the famous TV anchor. The bartender greeted him, and he ordered a coke. He didn’t want to drink and lose focus. It was poured quickly, and Jason sat, casually sipping for quite a few minutes before asking, “So, what’s the legendary Vic Sage doing at a place like this?”

Vic’s shoulders slumped. “Can’t I just get away for one night?”

“You can,” Jason agreed. “But why to a college club?”

“I was hoping no one here would recognize me,” He said. It sounded truthful enough, but the way he said it, like it had been prepared, made Jason conclude it was a lie.

Still, he didn’t press. “I guess we all have those days.”

Jason swiveled around in his chair and watched the crowd for a bit. Nothing too weird happened for awhile. Then he noticed a small deal go down, a tiny exchange of money, a small swipe of the sleeve before the two of them made their way to an exit.

Jason was just about to make up an excuse to leave when Vic said, “I’m gonna head out back for a smoke.” He drew a cigarette box from the inside of his trench coat. Not waiting for a response, he got up and left.

Blinking, Jason got up and headed towards the exit. He made sure his gun was still hidden, while also being reachable. Then he straightened his hat and walked around the building in search of the trade off. He found none, but as he made way to the back, he heard the distinct sounds of a fight.

Someone tumbled into him, and Jason instantly recognized him as the dealer from earlier. Jason grabbed him, turned him around, and punched him into a nearby pole. “What the  _ fuck _ is going on here?”

He looked around a bit, and was surprised to be greeted by The Question. “ _ Seriously,  _ what the  _ fuck?” _

“Good to see you too, Hood.”

Jason stared at him blankly. 

“What?” He grabbed the other dealer and kneed him in the stomach. “You think I don’t know who’s in my city?”

“I figured you wouldn’t care. You’re not Batman, you don’t kick people out.”

“Doesn’t mean I don’t know what’s going on.” He punched the guy again, and he fell to the floor. “I’ve been following this drug trail for months. Plus, your friends reached out to me a few days ago.”

“Huh.” Guess Jason really had been out of the loop. Still, he felt like he was missing something… He looked around. Where had Vic Sage gone?

_ Oh, of course. _

“So, don’t get enough justice in your day job?”

The Question cocked his head, curious.

“You know, you’re not the only Investigative Reporter to do the ‘investigative’ part off the clock.”

He didn’t know how such an expression of understanding could be displayed on a man without a face. Maybe it was the way he bowed his shoulders, dipped his head a bit. “I guess I could have been a bit sneakier.”

“Hey, I’m from Gotham. Finding new Vigilantes is like a daily thing for me.”

“I’m not new,” Vic defended. “I’ve been doing this since before you were born.”

“The first or second time?”

He sighed. “So I suppose the rumors are true on that one. What a strange world we have made for ourselves where a man can walk with the dead one day and the living the next.”

Jason pinched the bridge of his nose. He got enough of the brooding from Bruce. “So are you gonna take these guys in?”

The Question drew two pairs of handcuffs from his trenchcoat. He snapped them around the pole, and then the men’s wrists. “How ‘bout we go inside for a drink?”

“Why?” Jason blurted. 

“Because your friends want me to figure out what’s going on in that head of yours,” Vic stated bluntly. “And who am I to refuse a challenge?”

Jason wasn’t sure whether to be offended or not by that. Nevertheless, Vic used his gas and pried off the mask. Jason watched as everything changed before him, from hair color to the appearance of an actual face. Vic continued on as if nothing strange had happened, so they went inside, both ordered drinks, and began.

“It all started when I was born,” Jason said, trailing his finger around the rim of his glass. “And I do mean that literally. My biological father never really wanted-”

Vic raised his hand to stop him. “Let’s just talk about the bloodlust.”

“Yeah, well,” Jason took a sip of the drink, dangling it in his fingers. “I died. Guess it was an unpreventable side effect.”

“But how did you come back?”

“Lazarus pit.” Vic didn’t seem to understand. “Magical water with healing properties. I came back before that, but someone put me in the pit to get my memory back. Or at least, that’s what I’ve been told.”

“Hmm.” It seemed like this was way out of Vic’s depth, but he seemed to embrace the challenge. “When I first started in this business, there wasn’t all this supernatural stuff to worry about.”

“It’s been around for hundreds of years,” Jason pointed out. “It just isn’t public knowledge.”

Vic seemed to be debating something, then shook the thought from his head. “Where is this pit now?”

“Probably right where it used to be,” Jason drummed his fingers on the table.

“Let’s go destroy it.”

“For real? It’s guarded by dozens of professionally trained assassins. I mean,  _ I  _ can take them down, but-“

“Maybe that’s true, but would it be cathartic?”

Jason thought on it, “Probably.”

“Do you know how to destroy it?”

“No idea.” Jason trailed his finger around the rim of the salt shaker, fiddling with it. It  _ would _ be nice to get some closure.

“Oh, what the hell?” Jason slapped his hand on the table as he stood and called, “Bartender, we’re gonna need 4 shots, and keep ‘em coming!”

  
  



End file.
